End Of Watch: Brookfield K-9 Major Dies After Cancer

BROOKFIELD, CT — The Brookfield Police Department has announced the death of K-9 Officer Major, at the age of 8.

The popular K-9 officer has been diagnosed with lymphoma on February 9. Major was initially expected to live between one and three months, but the disease proved more aggressive than expected, police said in a statement.

Major began and ended his career in law enforcement alongside partner Corp. Joseph Keyek.

During his six years of service, Major was deployed over 200 times, assisting with public demonstrations, narcotic investigations, criminal investigations, missing person investigations, and felony and misdemeanor arrests, according to police. The K-9 officer was certified in and performed narcotic detection, tracking, area and building search, evidence recovery, and handler protection. During his career, Major served Brookfield and was routinely called to assist neighboring police departments.

In January, Major successfully tracked and apprehended a fleeing suspect involved in a shots-fired incident after the suspect engaged police in a pursuit and the stolen vehicle used became disabled. Most Notably, Major has been credited with locating an unconscious suicidal male in the woods, an injured person hiding after a traffic crash, a missing child, and a sixty-pound drug seizure among others. Major also provided assistance and backup during the execution of numerous search and arrest warrants executed by the Brookfield Police, Connecticut Department of Corrections, Federal Bureau of Prisons, State and Federal taskforces, and the Western CT Regional Emergency Services Team, according to the Bethel PD.

Major was laid to rest on March 09.